Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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Smells Like Pop JANUARY 3, 2013 - by Mark Turner

BRIAN ENO'S LUX - BEYOND 'DISCRETE' MUSIC

Brian Eno, legend, ambient hero, sleazy glam rocker, and one of the biggest influences on my musical life; released his newest ambient creation Lux in November of last year, with hardly a wave made in the press or much attention paid. Which is probably exactly to his liking, considering that he is the man who set out to compose ego-less music that would work equally well if you ignore it completely or to lose one's self in it. Either way, he doesn't want to get in your way. Lux is very much in that discrete model.

Lux marks a return to generative process after two albums that walked the gray and fuzzy line between ambient and a sort of post-electronic composition. On the positive side, the timbres are excellent and organic, in contrast to some of the sounds on his past two albums, which sounded like he hadn't gotten his 'sea-legs' on yet with strictly computer based sound sources. The album is composed using interlocking, cyclic patterns, similar to Music For Airports or Discreet Music and the spaces created, both in sound and composition, are shimmery and deep, the textures rich and colorful. Highly impressive.

The bad side? Well, it's Eno and it's Ambient. This is music you either love, or will put you immediately to sleep. If you enjoy Eno's austere, discrete work, this is a heartening return to form. Call it a nine, run out and buy it immediately. If you like your music with teeth? You're going to look at the stereo and say 'What the...' right before you become catatonic.